A Living Nightmare
by Ro-Chan2
Summary: A new Dynasty appears to take the place of the old one. Will the Ronins be able to stop it? Does the arrival of two new students have anything to do with it?


Disclaimer: No, I don't own the Ronin Warriors or the Warlords. I wish I did, but I don't ::sob sob:: I'm merely using them in my story.  
  
A Living Nightmare  
  
By Ro-Chan  
  
*Note to readers- I just want to say that two of the Ronins have accents. Cye has a British accent and Rowen (my favorite ^.^) has a Brooklyn accent.  
  
Chapter One: New Arrivals  
  
It was growing darker with every second that passed. Rowen Hashiba waited impatiently on the top of the hill overlooking Toyama. He was about to leave, when the familiar sound of slamming door reached him.  
  
"Hey, Rowen!" called a voice. That voice belonged to Kento Rei-Faun. Along with him came Ryo and Cye.  
  
The muscular youth was bigger by far then the other two boys that accompanied him. His black hair began whipping in the light breeze that was blowing as he looked to Rowen for on explanation.  
  
"So, why did you want us out here, buddy?" Kento asked. "It'd better be good, because I had to put up with Cye's complaining all the way here." He said, tousling Cye's auburn hair with his hand.  
  
"I was not complaining." Whined Cye. "You were hitting everything but the road!"  
  
Awww, can I have some cheese with that whine?" Kento poked. Cye only glared at him.  
  
"How about you both stop before the rest of us start complaining." Ryo grinned. The black haired young man found it entertaining to listen to the two squabble, but stopped them when he saw his blue eyed, blue haired friend start to get annoyed.  
  
"That sounds like a good idea to me." Sage had arrived in his usual fashion, unannounced. His violet eyes flickered with frustration at the constant bickering between Cye and Kento, no matter how playful.  
  
"Aw, you're no fun Sage." Kento replied in a voice that sounded almost like a child's. "So, what are we here to see, Stick boy?" he asked, looking to Rowen.  
  
"If you have to know, I asked you all up here to see the lunar eclipse." Rowen informed Kento and the rest. Rowen had a strange attraction to the sky and the stars for reasons he couldn't exactly explain.  
  
"That's what you dragged us all the way up here to see?!" burst Cye with his heavy British accent.  
  
"Well, if you don't want to stay, Cye, feel free to leave." Rowen spat with a hint of anger. For some reason or other, Cye and Rowen never got along. Cye took the comment as a challenge and decided to stay.  
  
They sat in a circle, talking and laughing, until the eclipse finally began. Ryo informed them of this when he suddenly thrust his finger skyward. Rowen was the first to look.  
  
"Isn't it amazing guys?" he asked them.  
  
"Wow! I've never seen anything like it!" Kento exclaimed. "This eclipse thing would be the greatest if I was watching it with a girl."  
  
"Is that all you think about, Kento? Women?" laughed Cye.  
  
Kento pouted his lip and crossed his arms. Sage smiled at his child- like antics. Kento seemed to be the clown of the group and didn't seem like the type to be a Ronin. In fact, none of them seemed to be…  
  
Cye Mouri awoke to the loud buzzing of the alarm clock. He rolled over sleepily and hit the snooze. One eye crept slowly open. Seven o'clock. Cye figured he'd better get up or his mother would be up after him shortly.  
  
The cold floor woke Cye up quickly. He trudged down the hall where he showered. As he was descending the stairs, he heard the familiar beep of Kento's jeep. How could he have been late? Cye jumped the last stairs, grabbed his books and jacket, and ran into the kitchen for his on-the-go breakfast. His mother was waiting for him.  
  
"Bye mom. I love you." Cye huffed as he gave her a quick peck on the cheek.  
  
"I love you, too dear. Have a good day." Replied Mrs. Mouri.  
  
Outside, Cye ran down the front walk to the beat up, olive green vehicle. There was Kento, sitting impatiently in the driver's side. There was a period of silence until Cye broke it.  
  
"Kento, why are you here so early this morning?" he asked.  
  
"Me? Early? Listen, Sunshine. I was here at the exact same time I'm here every morning. You must've been late gettin up or something." Kento responded. Cye sat, thinking, about this situation. How could he possibly have been late? His little cousins must have messed with his alarm clock when they came to visit.  
  
After the extremely rough ride, Cye and Kento arrived at school surprisingly early. No matter how early they got there, Ryo Sanada was always there. The two made their way over to him.  
  
"What are you two doing here so early?" Ryo asked.  
  
"You know what, Phyro boy? I really don't know." Kento replied.  
  
"Well, can you take a guess?" he asked further.  
  
"I told you, man, I don't know."  
  
The three remained silent until Sage Date* and Rowen arrived. They were rather alarmed by the silence.  
  
"Why is everybody so quiet? Did somebody die?" Rowen joked.  
  
"No, nothing that serious." Said Kento.  
  
"We were just trying to figure out why Cye and Kento were here so early." Ryo finished. Sage looked at the other two.  
  
"So, why were you two here early?" he asked.  
  
Cye rolled his eyes as Kento began ranting that he didn't know why they were early. Before a logical explanation could be reached, the bell rang. Sage walked off quickly, hoping to avoid the mob of girls that always followed him around. Ryo, Cye and Kento walked off in the opposite direction, leaving Rowen by himself. Such was a day at Hana High.  
  
The first hour seemed to drag by for Rowen. History was his least favorite subject. The only history he was interested in was that of the Ronin armors and the battles they had fought in the past. His sensei*, Mr. Azumi, went on and on. It seemed as if he'd never run out of hot air. Rowen had just begun to settle into a light sleep, when the bell for second hour rang. Off to creative writing, one of his favorites.  
  
The class took their seats and waited for class to begin. Miss Kamiah was later than usual today. The whole class turned to look at the door when she walked in with a girl, obviously a new student. The girl was tall with her short blonde hair pulled into a ponytail. At least half a dozen clips lined her head keeping any stray pieces of hair in line; with the exception of the two pieces that hung over her eyes. Her eyes were what Rowen noticed the most. A beautiful dark blue, just like his.  
  
"Class, this is Kinbari Yuy. She transferred here all the way from Tokyo." Miss Kamiah announced.  
  
One of the boys up front snickered. The teacher glared at him. Rowen knew that something was going to be said.  
  
"What happened, city girl? You get kicked out for fighting?" he jeered.  
  
"Mr. Holtzuma! What rude behavior! I want to see you after class."  
  
"Why?" Jo Holtzuma asked. "I was just curious." He said in his most innocent voice.  
  
The girl call Kinbari shuffled her feet nervously. Miss Kamiah put her hand on her shoulder.  
  
"Kinbari, please take the seat beside Rowen. Rowen, raise your hand." Rowen waved as his arm was elevated. Kinbari gave him a thin smile as she made her way to the empty desk beside him. Rowen leaned over toward her as she sat down.  
  
"Hi there." He said in a low whisper. She looked at him shyly.  
  
"Hello." Kinbari said, being careful not to make eye contact.  
  
"You'll have to excuse Jo. He thinks he's Mr. Big, so he'll most likely give you trouble." Kinbari nodded. "Are you afraid to talk to me?" Rowen asked finally. That was the first time she looked him in the eyes.  
  
"No." she answered. "It's just that my brother doesn't want me talking to anyone."  
  
"Your brother? You mean you didn't come here alone?"  
  
"Of course not!" Kinbari exclaimed in a hushed voice. "My brother won't let me go anywhere without him."  
  
"Mr. Hashiba, Miss Yuy! If you're both finished, I'd like to continue class!" Miss Kamiah shouted.  
  
Rowen gave her an innocent look, as if he hadn't been doing anything. Her expression softened and she went back to teaching. He looked over at Kinbari and winked. She looked at the floor and blushed wildly.  
  
"How did you do that?" Kinbari asked Rowen as they were walking from fourth hour to lunch.  
  
"Do what?" he replied, bewildered.  
  
"You gave Miss Kamiah a look and she practically forgot about us."  
  
"Oh that." Rowen shrugged. "I just have a way with women." A grin spread across his face. Kinbari stared at him and was about to say something else, when they came upon Ryo and the others.  
  
"Hey, stick boy!" Kento cried. "Where have you been?" he asked in a parental tone. The he looked at Kinbari and his tone of voice changed. "Who's your friend, Rowen?"  
  
"Oh, everyone, this is Kinbari. She's new here." He looked at Kinbari then looked back to his friends. "Kinbari, this is my 'gang', Ryo, Kento, Cye, and Sage." Kinbari waved shyly. Her tiny smile disappeared when she noticed another, darker member of the group. He had cold eyes and an intimidating presence. She started shuffling her feet.  
  
"Sukotto, what are you doing here?" she asked nervously.  
  
"I see you've met my new friends." He replied. He studied Rowen carefully. "Who's your friend?" he asked.  
  
"This is Rowen. Rowen, this is my brother, Sukotto."  
  
"Nice to meet you, Sukotto." Rowen said, extending his hand.  
  
"A pleasure." Sukotto answered, accepting his hand. The young man's hand was colder than ice and made Rowen shiver. The only thing that was colder than his hands were his ice blue eyes. Those eyes. They reminded him of eyes he had seen before. Rowen had seen those eyes when he'd fought…  
  
"Rowen, hello? Are you still with us?" Cye snickered.  
  
"Of course I am!" he snapped. Kinbari had been staring at him curiously. What was it that he saw in her brother that caused that look of shock and what looked like remembered horror? Before she could think about the matter any further, the bell for the second half of the day rang. Kinbari watched as Rowen waved and ran to his next hour class.  
  
Rowen sighed as he walked into the house. His mother was working late again and his training at the dojo had run over time. Rowen loved training; it took his mind off of all his problems and cleared his head. But since he'd left the dojo, he'd begun thinking about all of today's events. First there was Cye and Kento being extra early at school and then that new girl and her brother showing up at school. The boy, Sukotto. He'd seen those ice blue eyes on someone else before.  
  
Now that he thought about it, so did Sukotto's shoulder length, brown hair. Even though it had been pulled back into a low ponytail, it could be recognized. Sukotto's whole face seemed to belong to someone else. Even his personality didn't seem to be his own.  
  
That cool confidence and unwavering assurance reminded Rowen of someone and it was beginning to drive hi crazy because he couldn't think of who it was. His brain was fried, so he'd leave it for now. Rowen trudged slowly to the kitchen.  
  
Clattering could be heard by anyone nearby as Rowen was rummaging through the cabinets.  
  
"There's got to be something here that I can eat." He muttered to himself. He sighed in defeat.  
  
Rowen had come to the last cabinet, when he found something he considered edible. He was about to shout his triumph, but he though better of it. He'd just heard something move. Not a sound really, more of a movement of air. Rowen turned around slowly to find nothing. He scanned the areas surrounding the kitchen. Again he found nothing. He ran a hand through his blue hair. Who or what could that have been? Rowen was too tired and hungry to care.  
  
After he had eaten his cup of noodles, Rowen walked down the short hall to his room. He scanned the apartment one last time before he disappeared through the door. Rowen stripped down to his boxers before climbing into bed.* Ah, sleep. That would be the only time that he'd be able to rest his brain from the strain of the arising problems.  
  
"AHHH!" he screamed as he bolted upright, wide-awake.  
  
The dream again. He'd had more previous to this one. They were all the same, yet different. He was some sort of a warrior and he was fighting that group of you men he'd met at school today. The one called Rowen seemed to appear the most. What did these dreams mean? What were those boys? More importantly, what was he?  
  
A soft knock came at the door and then it pushed open a bit. A shadowed face poked in.  
  
"Brother, are you alright?" it asked.  
  
"Yes, I'm fine. Go back to bed." He replied. Wide blue eyes continued to stare at him. "I said I'm fine, really."  
  
Finally the door snapped closed again. There was no use telling Kinbari and causing her to worry. She'd start to worry anyway if he kept waking up screaming. He looked at the clock. It was three in the morning. There were still a few hours left to sleep. He pulled the blankets up around his chin. Sleep Sukotto, he thought, sleep.  
  
The next two days proceeded normally enough. Classes crept slowly by and homework piled up. I wasn't until Friday that things began to get strange. Sage and Rowen were on their way to the dojo for their daily practice session, when Rowen abruptly stopped. Sage also stopped and he jerked around. There had been someone following them. Rowen turned to join Sage in scanning the area behind them.  
  
"Did you see who it was?" Rowen asked.  
  
"No, I sure didn't. I heard it. I mean, it didn't make a noise-"  
  
"-but you heard the air moving?"  
  
"Yeah, I heard the air moving." Sage replied. He looked at Rowen. When Rowen's eyes met Sage's, he looked away so quickly that is was frightening. Something was obviously on his mind.  
  
This was startling, first in the apartment and now here on the street. Did these two incidents have anything to do with Sukotto Yuy reminding him of someone? It couldn't, could it? Rowen noticed that Sage was taking interest in his contemplating. He couldn't let the others know anything until he had more information to go on so he could link things together.  
  
"Ro, is there something wrong? You seem to be thinking really hare about something." Sage asked with the mildest concern.  
  
Rowen's attention was drawn back to his friend. "No, I'm fine Sage. Really."  
  
The two continued on their way to the dojo. Sage had his eyes behind them and Rowen was still trying to piece together what little information he had. It stayed like that for the remainder of the trip to the dojo. Sage and Rowen went straight to the locker room and changed into their fighting attire.*  
  
They made their way to a vacant sparring room. The two young men stood across from each other and bowed, as was traditional. Sage moved first. He thrust his fist toward Rowen's face. Rowen blocked the punch and kicked at Sage's mid-section. Sage jumped back just enough to miss the kick and then jumped forward, this time, with a flying kick. Rowen dove and rolled under Sage while he was in the air. He leapt to his feet and threw a well-aimed punch at the small of Sage's back while he was still in the air. Sage heard Rowen moving and turned around as soon was he reached the ground with inhuman speed. He caught Rowen's fist before it reached his stomach. Sage smiled tauntingly.  
  
"Wow, Rowen, you almost hit me." He said in mock surprise. "Either I'm getting slower or you're getting faster, and I'm certainly not getting slower."  
  
"Oh, of course not." Rowen said sarcastically. "There's nothing ever wrong with the king of hair gel, the almighty Halo."  
  
Rowen wrenched his fist free of Sage's grip. He was about to swing again, when Sage's knuckles stopped just inches away from his nose. Rowen gasped in a breath and held it in. Sage lowered his fist.  
  
"Keep practicing, stick boy." He said. Rowen nodded and went quickly into a crouching position. He brought his leg around quickly, knocking Sage's legs out from under him. Sage propped himself up on his elbows and glared at Rowen. Rowen looked back at him and grinned wildly. He extended a hand to help Sage to his feet.  
  
"Not so fast now, are you Halo?" Rowen laughed.  
  
"I guess not, Strata." Sage replied. He was also laughing.  
  
The two boys changed in the locker room. As they were walking down the street, smoke rose from what looked like the down town area in the distance. Reading each other's thoughts, both Rowen and Sage began to run. When they reached the source, everything was on fire. There was no sign of a cause anywhere to be found. Rowen and Sage looked at each other in shock and horror.  
  
All that remained of the down town area was rubble, some of which was still burning. There were no people around that could be seen. Sage didn't even want to think about what could've happened to them. His sixth sense was going haywire, there was something there that couldn't be seen or heard. Sage was continually scanning the remnants of the alleys, not to mention the shadows. Sage jerked his head to the right. There it was. He'd sensed something and had actually seen it move. Rowen had seen it too.  
  
Something emerged from the shadows. In fact, it was a shadow! The eyes weren't eyes at all. They were more like white holes. It actually looked like one of those cartoon ghosts, with the exception of it being black. It was a dark spirit from the Nether Realm. It hissed as it floated out to greet them.  
  
Rowen reacted first. He reached for the chain around his neck and pulled out an orb that had been concealed in his shirt. The orb began to glow dark blue. Rowen held it in his hand and closed his eyes and almost instantly was coated with his dark blue and white sub-armor. He took a fighting stance as he waited for Sage.  
  
Sage was pulling his green-glowing orb from around his neck and holding it in his hand. Within seconds, Sage was dressed in his green and white sub- armor. Sage brushed one of his golden locks out of his eye only to have it fall back into place. The two stood evaluating the situation. It had been almost half a year since the Ronin Warriors had defeated Talpa and his evil Dynasty. What could've brought them back?  
  
The Nether Spirit had begun to come closer to them. Rowen and Sage both took a fighting stance. With lightning speed, the spirit attacked. Rowen jumped to one side to avoid the attack while Sage jumped to the other. Sage, with his incredible speed, was the first to attack the spirit. He attacked viciously with a series of kicks and punches. Sage then jumped clear and let Rowen take over. Rowen attacked just as ferociously as Sage, although not quite as fast. Just as Sage was about to reenter the battle, the Nether Spirit disappeared and then reappeared a short distance away. It let out a shrill, haunting cry. The two Ronins were suddenly surrounded by a mob of spirits. Rowen looked to Sage.  
  
"You know what this means." Rowen said matter-of-factly.  
  
"What? We won't be at Mia's in time for dinner?" Sage asked in grim humor. Rowen shook his head and smiled darkly. The kanji* of life force appeared on his forehead and began to glow dark blue.  
  
"Armor of Strata!" Rowen cried. "Toa Inochi!"  
  
A shower of cherry blossoms fell around him, creating the Armor of Strata. The dark blue and white armor would provide him with more protection and more power. "Your turn, Sage."  
  
The kanji of wisdom, glowing green, appeared on Sage's forehead. He was about to call on the Armor of Halo.  
  
"Armor of Halo! Toa Chi!" Sage yelled. A shower of cherry blossoms also fell around him. They quickly created his green and white exterior armor. "What do ya' say we get rid of these guys, eh Ro?"  
  
"Sounds like a plan to me!" Rowen replied with confidence.  
  
Both warriors began to rush the group of phantasms. Many moved before they were hit, but those who didn't reached out and clawed their attackers. Rowen and Sage screamed in pain. Sage turned around and decided that he was going to use his most powerful attack, or sure kill as they called it. He raised his no-datchi* into the air.  
  
"Thunderbolt Cut!"  
  
A loud crash of thunder followed by a brilliant flash of lightning fell into the middle of the Spirits. Some of them disappeared, but not many. Three Spirits banned together to create an energy attack. It hit Sage with such force that it scrapped him along the ground until he was stopped by the remnants of a wall. Rowen watched in horror.  
  
"Sage!" he shouted as he saw his best friend being attacked. His gaze turned to the Spirits. "Now you're going to get it. Arrow Shock Wave!"  
  
A shower of energized arrows left Rowen's bow. Only a hundred or so Spirits had been destroyed. That left about seventy-five or so. Half of the remaining Spirits attacked Rowen. They rushed at him and began clawing and biting him, shrieking wildly. Rowen screamed desperately.  
  
Sage awoke and his vision was just beginning to clear, when he heard screaming. Rowen! He shook his head to try and clear his vision faster, but to no avail. When Sage could see again, there were the black Nether Spirits, swarming all over Rowen. He tried to stand up, but couldn't and fell to his knees. All he could do was watch the living wisps of smoke brutally assault his blue-haired companion. When Sage finally had the strength to stand, Rowen lay motionless on the ground and his assailants were nowhere to be found. Sage rose and staggered to his friend.  
  
Rowen lay there, gasping in pain. His exterior armor had been shattered in the rib area. Evidently he'd been wounded pretty badly, because blood was coming through the cracks in his armor. Sage knelt down beside him.  
  
"Ro, can you hear me?"  
  
"I can hear you fine." Rowen smiled weakly.  
  
"I'm going to try to stand you up and get you back to Mia's, okay Ro?" Sage told him. Rowen nodded his head slightly and closed his eyes for a moment.  
  
Sage got to his feet and pulled Rowen up as gently as he could. He would've healed Rowen right there, but he was too weak to do so. Rowen winced as Sage began walking. Good thing Mia's house wasn't too far from here.  
  
*Date-pronounced Dah-tay  
  
Sansei-for those of you who don't know, a Japanese word for teacher  
  
Fighting attire-you know, karate robes?  
  
Kanji-attribute  
  
No-datchi-large battle sword 


End file.
